My grandfather Paddy Mc Cormack was wont to call somebody he didn't hold in high esteem a right fecken haverel or words to that effect.I can remember him using the phrase in the 1960's and 1970's.As he was born in the 1880's no doubt he used the phrase well before the 1960's.I have checked the use of this word locally with people of my vintage(over three score) and most of them have solid memories of its use in their youth.It has fallen out of fashion hereabouts in latter years as has the word trollop which is seldom used nowadays.
I know from the context in which he used the word that it was far from complimentary but never considered what it meant until recently.
If you google it the seemingly accepted meaning of it is a fool or simpleton who never shuts his trap,or what in Dublin we used to call a "mouth".
An extremely knowledgeable brother of mine is convinced that it meant a badly castrated buck goat,while another trained mind who has an interest in these things is sure that it was slang Irish for a person who was gluttonous in the extreme ,as when a person who had stuffed his face with s food and drink would say "I made a right haverel of myself at dinner last night and have indigestion since".
The vehemence with which my grandfather used utter the word would rule out neither of the above meanings but the buck goat meaning holds the greatest appeal for me.
Can anybody throw any more light on the matter?
No comments:
Post a Comment